English Doc Hits a Landmark

When did I start getting so old?

Not that I'm one to announce a lady's age, but today was the first of what's likely going to be a common occurrence in the days and years to dome. English Doc turned 60 and a gaggle of folks gathered to celebrate in that landmark birthday way. We've still got a batch of good friends' 50th b-days to come this year. So, a 60th was a bit of a wake up call. I'm not so sure that I'm ready to be hit with an even bigger decade.

Good thing there was plenty of wine to help us get through the shock. The primary pours were mimosas - and I'll admit to having joined in for a couple but I didn't grab shots of the bottles for The List because there were all Prosecco's that have already been added. Tasty? Yes. But that "silly" rule of mine says that a bottle can only be added once to The List - unless the additional bottle is a different vintage or a different size.

Of course, there were still other bottles to add.

1633.  2011 Falernia Reserva Carmenère (Valle de Elqui D.O. - Chile)

The Olivier family emigrated to Chile from northern Italy in 1951 to start life anew in the Elqui Valley. Working in agriculture from the start, the family started growing grapes in the early 1970's. The grapes, however, were destined for the production of Pisco, Chile's national spirit. After a few years of selling their grapes to other producers, the family established its own Pisco company, only to see it grow into the third largest Pisco producer in the country.

The winery's website states that in 1995, family member, Aldo Olivier, met a cousin, Giorgio Flessati, who was working in the wine industry back in Italy. Together, they founded Falernia - Chile's most northerly wine estate - in an innovative effort to transform "a tract of desert into a green vineyard." The winery now offers a wide selection of wines featuring over a dozen varieties.

I suppose it only makes sense that one of the wines offered is a Carmenère. It is, after all, the grape that first heralded Chile's arrival on the international wine scene. This particular bottling also incorporates some of the family's Italian heritage in that it is made using the appasimento method, whereby the grapes are harvested very late in the season in order to concentrate the grape juices and then left to partially dry to further increase that concentration. I hadn't known this production method had been used before I tried the wine. Had I known, that might have explained the intensity of the wine. It was quite the contrast to all the mimosas that were flowing. Talk about your opposite ends of the spectrum.

The highlight of the event was the introduction and explanation of the most spectacular of birthday cakes. In what has become a bit of a trademark for them, Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed put together an homage to English Doc's first sixty years.

With a little bit of help from Axel, English Doc's main squeeze, Lady Di and SWMBO tracked down and incorporated at least eight of the cars and bikes that Doc has owned over the years. They worked in his love of the slopes (although I don't think he's ever snowboarded - but I guess you can't find a Ken doll on skis), scuba and travelling. They were hardly about to let him escape the fact that he was the first to turn 60 though. There was more than a handful of dinosaurs to be found on various stages of the cake.

Hopefully, Doc was able to get over the shock of how much dirt the girls had dug up from his past and realized that they've only done this a handful of times - and only for the biggest of birthdays. Indeed, I'm not sure that I've been party to one of their "this is your life" cakes since Boo turned 40 and that was more than a couple of years ago.

Furthermore, you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that this was also the most incredibly delicious cake as well. They could serve this to me any single day of the year - birthday or otherwise, and that comes from a guy that doesn't eat much cake.

1634.  2011 Bella Sparkling Chardonnay (Okanagan Valley)

Of course, there was a bit of a birthday toast to the birthday boy - and I made sure that there was no orange juice mixed with this bubble.

Bella is a most interesting addition to the BC wine scene. The 2011 vintage is the enterprise's first bottling as they seek to establish themselves as BC's first sparkling only winery. Sparkling wines haven't always been foremost on the list of skews for BC winemakers - even though producers like Blue Mountain and Sumac Ridge have shown for years that BC can make some very tasty bubblies. More and more wineries are joining the ranks of effervescence though.

Starting off with the Chardonnay and a Gamay Noir Rosé, this first attempt saw Bella purchase grapes and enlist the help of winemaker, Michael Bartier, and the Okanagan Crush Pad facilities. The virtual winery only saw 275 cases at the end of their initial production run but the reaction has been most favourable. The intent was to double the 2012 output and, ultimately, hit a goal of 3000 cases annually.

I don't know if the Bella paired up with the sweetness of the cake as much as the lighter, sweeter Proseccos that were also being served. The Sparkling Chardonnay showed some serious citrus and acidity and was clearly a serious sip. I'll look forward to seeing how the winery evolves.

And, on that note of evolving over time, I guess there's just no turning back time. It's just something I'll have to live with. After all, it is better than the alternative. I'll just have to hope the wine will keep flowing and we'll all be able to keep knocking it back as the years continue to add up.

Happy Happy Doc.

A BittrSweet Garden Party

Weather-wise, it's been an overly grey and wet Spring. With the seemingly ever-present April showers, May flowers should certainly be in abundance. On the other hand, I don't know what all this wet in May is going to lead to. Maybe it's just the price we have to pay for the Canucks' long run in the playoffs. Who wants to be stuck inside watching a game when it's nice outside anyhow? I'll just have to keep telling myself that.

I doubt our friends, Bittr & Sweet, had counted on the continuing wet when they announced a build your own pizza and garden party. At its worst, the evening's weather was nothing more than a slight, misty drizzle - conditions a true gardener won't have any problem with. Not to mention a true partier/drinker - something this household has never had any difficulty attracting.

I have no idea how many pizzas were cooked up during the party but Miss Alicia was definitely the key to an endless supply of thin crusts and intriguing toppings. She did her best to grab every one of the guests to direct her to unique combinations that included such items as a Mexican black corn fungus, asiago, smoked oysters and balsamic syrup. Not exactly topics that one regularly finds at your local pizza-by-the-slice.

Remembering how, the last time we attended a little affair Chez BittrSweet, the evening's events were way more entertaining than the morning after, I made a deliberate decision to avoid any refills on the martinis - regardless of how good they were - and stick to just a glass of wine here or there. There are too many pictures still floating around from the last party for my liking.

It may not make for a lot of additional wines for The List, but it certainly made for a more productive Sunday.

803. 2008 Emiliana Novas Limited Selection Carmenere/Cabernet Sauvignon (Colchagua Valley - Chile)

I think it's fitting that the one wine that is making it to The List is from Chile's pre-eminent winery when it comes to using organic and biodynamic practices in the vineyard. Garden party. Organic wine. Seems fitting. Indeed, Emiliana dedicates a healthy portion of its website to describing its philosophy in winemaking and how the practicalities of organic farming actually apply to the winemaking process. Their "Interactive Vineyard" on the site was an interesting scroll of what you can encounter in their vineyards and why you might discover the same.

The website did describe the farming practices to a good extent, but I didn't find an awful lot of information about the bottle of wine that we'd enjoyed. For the vintages that I did find some sort of reference, the blend is primarily Carmenere - not surprising given the varietal's prominent status in the Chilean wine world. The Novas label, as a whole, is one of a number of lines produced at the winery and it is certified organic. They produce a few more premium wines that are fully biodynamic and that garner favourable press from some big wine publications.

At $16, there's some real bang for your buck. With a full palate of dark fruit, it was approachable enough to sip on while strolling in the garden - and the body was big enough to keep you warm in the cool dampness that enveloped you if you did stroll outside.

One good thing about stepping in from outside was that there was inevitably a slice of pizza just around the corner to warm you up. When it became my turn to accessorize the toppings with Miss Alicia, I decided to stay fairly classic and went with pesto, carmelized onions, prosciutto and two cheeses. Boo, on the other hand, was a tad more eclectic - spinach, onions, mushrooms and anchovies (his favourite).

I haven't heard whether the later hours were as rambunctious as BittrSweet's last soiree or if there are as many incriminating pictures, but that's simply because Boo had endured a rough day at work and had the good sense to head home to bed before the party had a chance to kick into a higher gear.

It also meant that we had the morning after to enjoy as well.

But I'm still going to ask about the pictures.

Aconcagua Empanadas

So, if the Peruvian portion of our vacation seemed rushed, this next little leg is going to be a dog gone dash. We're really only passing through Santiago, Chile, because we couldn't find a workable flight from Peru to Buenos Aries when we originally booked the trip. I figured why not head down the coast to Santiago and take a bus through the Andes since it would end up in Mendoza and that was to be our next destination anyhow.

The thought of arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon, just to spend one night in the city and leave first thing in the morning didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. Accordingly, we decided to stay an extra day and work a fleeting tour to one of the wine valleys into the itinerary.

Aconcaugua Valley was the chosen journey. The smallest of Chile's wine valleys, Aconcaugua is generally lesser known and, perhaps, less celebrated than the country's other areas of production like Casablanca and Colchagua. However, we chose it because it is relatively close to Santiago, being about an hour out of town, and it's perhaps the best known area for Carmenere - a veritable signature grape for Chile.

The valley is semi-desert and enjoys both the hottest and longest growing season in the country. Accordingly, it is best known for its red wines and we'll take a "red valley" over a "white" one any day. Luckily, Aconcaugua's heat is tempered by downflows of cool mountain air in the evening, as well as seeing ocean breezes sweep up the valley from the Pacific. So, they don't need to worry about over-ripe fruit with no acidity.

The best known, and biggest gun, in the valley is Errazuriz and, as soon as we'd arrived at the winery, if felt like we were in for a special treat. The immediate vineyard was beautiful and we were greeted in an overwhelming, century-old, wooden building that reeked of history and the extraordinary.

Errazuriz was founded in 1870 and was the first winery in the then barren Aconcaugua Valley. It quickly expanded and, at one point, its 170 acres was believed to be the world's largest vineyard in the hands of a single owner. The Errazuriz family had played a significant role in Chilean political, cultural and economic life for years and, for six generations now, it has had a continued presence in the valley - even following a mass expropriation of their vineyards by the federal government during political upheaval in the 1900's.

The winery was the first in Chile to start planting vines on the sloping hills and we particularly enjoyed our tour up through the vineyards that were dotted with palms and cactus of all sorts. The view of the valley and of their brand new, state of the art, winery was one to just soak in.

The winery has been known for its innovation and the new building is yet another example. Compellingly designed, it will be used for Errazuriz's flagship wines and features cutting edge details that encompass sustainable practises like recycling water for incorporation into the cooling system. They have also experimented and introduced single vineyard designations, wild yeast ferments, reduced bottle weights and increased organic treatments.

We were at the winery for a couple of hours and could, easily, have stayed much longer. We'd barely started our tasting when our tour guide, Dario, advised us that we were already late for our next winery visit. The news elicited a big groan from me, but Frederico - our guide at Errazuriz - told us that we should just take our time, drink up and enjoy. "You're on wine country time now and being late means nothing." Besides he was willing to bring out a couple of their icon wines for us to try - not the most common of offers.

Trying the icons was a special treat, especially in light of the fact that we'd been told of the "Berling Tasting" of 2004 - where two of Errazuriz's top wines, the 2000 Vinedo Chadwick and the 2001 Sena, finished first and second at a blind tasting against French heavyweights the likes of Chateau Lafite, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour and Italian cult wines, Tignanello, Sassicaia and Guado al Tasso.

We decided to buy the icon Shiraz and were in the process of paying for it when our driver came in to check up on us. The bottle was over $100 and our driver was in complete shock that anyone would pay that much for a bottle. Boo has a bit of Spanish in his bag of tricks and he overheard the driver excitedly telling Dario that he'd never believe what their passengers just did. We didn't tell him that we don't normally buy such pricey wines and that we're only allowed to bring four bottles of wine home with us legally - accordingly, those four wines had to be special.

Our next stop was just next door. I'd never heard of Vina von Siebenthal prior to booking this tour. I'm certainly glad that it's on my radar now. Mauro von Siebenthal is a Swiss lawyer and long time wine aficionado. A boutique winery in the true sense, the winery's approximately 60 acres and limited production is a bit of a rarity in chile.

The winery has only been around since 1998 and it limits its production to only five wines. Those wines, however, are all made for structure and benefit from organic practices and reduced yields - to the extent that their 2004 Montelig (predominantly Cab Sauv with a bit of Petit Verdot and Carmenere) was named best red wine in the world at the Brussels Wine Expo.

Vina von Siebenthal is also noted as produced Chile's most expensive wine. Their Tatay de Cristobal - a 90% Carmenere - sells for approximately $250US. Too bad for the winery that they only produce 1500 bottles on average. Luckily for us, we didn't have to make a decision about spending that sort of money - the wine has been sold out for months.

Their other wines were much more reasonably priced and were all quite tasty. Had we been at home, I'm sure we'd have left with the better part of a case. Our tour was a little more truncated here than at Errazuriz. I don't know if it was because we were late arriving or because our host, Soledad, spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish. I'm sure there were a great many more stories to be told though.

This was the one wine tour we'd booked where a planned lunch wasn't included. Once we'd finished our tasting, it was definitely time to find something to eat. There wasn't much spitting with the wines so far and we were now well past noon. Dario assumed we'd want to try one of the touristic restaurants in the area, but we told him to just find us a hot spot for empanadas amongst the locals.

After asking some construction workers in town, we grabbed a batch of empanadas from a storefront that I'm sure I'd have never given a second look had we'd not been specifically directed there. Armed with the empanadas, a bottle of wine and a shady spot in a local park, we surprised the heck out of our guides. But what a great way to see what the country is really like.

615. 2008 Vina von Siebenthal Carmenere (Aconcaugua Valley - Chile)

Although this is more of an "entry level" wine for the winery, there are still only about 3200 cases produced. My guess is, that at those numbers, we're not likely to see much of it in Vancouver. Too bad, because for the price, about $10 at the winery, it's a wine I'd return to on more than one occasion. It was my favourite of the wines we tried at the winery. It was an easy drink, even in the heat of the mid-day sun.

I'll look forward to trying the higher end Petit Verdot that we brought home with us.

Our final stop for the day was Vina San Esteben. I'd never heard of this winery before either - despite the fact that they produce three brands, Vina San Esteban, In Situ and Rio Alto, and apparently have some presence in Canada. Located in the most easterly - and warmest - part of the valley, you might think that they would have an even stronger production of red varietals than the other wineries we visited. On the contrary, it produces a wide range of wines, both red and white.

They were actually in the process of bottling their most recent vintage of Sauvignon Blanc while we were visiting. There was no doubt that the winery was fully modernized in its production - and marketing. Just around the corner from the bottling machine, there was a show case of all the private labels they had produced for clients. The labels included Sweet Dreams, Royal Bitch, Sweet Papa and Alma de Chile. It was an interesting exhibit.

The winery is largely export oriented and it is fully connected to other farm production as well. From table grapes to vegetables to avocado and olive oil, there was a whole agricultural conglomerate. The founding family started out in the valley as grape growers in 1974. They then began producing bulk wine in 1992 and ended up selling wine under their own label in 2000. In addition to the In Situ wines that we were offered, we were provided with oils, fruit and nuts to taste. Having to serve up their wines following our visits to Errazuriz and von Siebenthal may have been a bit of a rough task though. San Esteban's market seems to be definitely oriented more to the entry level and general masses. Since we've visited the winery, I'd give In Situ another try but I can't say that anything stood out for me this day.

It was time to head back into Santiago now though. We decided to stick pretty close to the hotel since we had an early wake-up call planned for the next morning. So, we just hiked it a whole half a block down the street to De la Ostia, a Spanish tapas and wine bar. It was one of the best dinner decisions we made this trip. We loved the shrimp in piping hot olive oil. Boo got more squid; we tried a number of piscos and wines by the glass (so, no additional bottle to add to The List) and the cute bartender even signed the postcard I was writing to my sister. He left her his number and told her to call.

We spent a good couple of hours here and I would definitely make it a regular haunt if I lived here. Ultimately, it had been a full day and we did have to be at the bus station first thing in the morning; so, we had to call it a night. Problem was that when we arrived back at the hotel and readied ourselves for bed - past midnight or not - CNN advised us that the first of the Chilean miners was just about to get into the rescue capsule and that he would, hopefully, make it to the surface within half an hour. How could we not stay up for such an event?

We may have only been spending one full day in Chile, but what a day. We certainly hadn't expected to be in the capital city as virtually the whole country was glued to the TV to see the miraculous rescue of their miners. It will be one of those moments in history that we'll remember exactly where we were when it happened. If we didn't have a bus to catch in short time, we'd have popped a cork and toasted the event.

A Final Summer Picnic?

I keep saying that summer seems to be coming to an end and, then, we get another stretch of wonderful weather. Whether we're already into an Indian Summer or we're still hanging on to summer proper, C. and I took advantage of a beautiful Sunday and fit in another picnic. This wasn't exactly the summer of a thousand picnics, but I guess we're still ahead in the game if we fit some in.

Just as we had some trouble fitting in picnics this summer, it's taken us almost two months to finally get around to seeing the new Harry Potter movie - despite the best of intentions. It's only playing at a couple of theatres now, so we had to pick a picnic site that would allow us a relaxing nosh and still get us to Hogwart's on time.

194. Lillet (France)

This bottle isn't the standard table wine that has filled the majority of the spots on The List so far, but it is a wine-based aperitif and, what's more, I love it and that alone should put it on The List.

Lillet is a blend of wine (about 85%) and fruit liquer and has been in production since 1887 although it has seen a few re-jiggings of the formula over the years, the most recent having been in the 1980's. Lillet has seen its popularity in the cocktail scene rise and fall and it has travelled through the trend-setting centres of Paris, London and New York as the "It Drink" on more than one occasion. It has also generated its share of reference points in pop culture - appearing on Broadway with Sandra Bernhard and as a cocktail of choice by none other than noted epicure Hannibal Lecter.

My favourite reference point though is that it's a component in the classic James Bond martini, the Vesper, named after James' love interest in Casino Royale. Both the Sean Connery and the Daniel Craig versions recite the recipe of 3 parts gin, 1 part vodka, 1/2 part Lillet and slice of lemon peel. You decide if it's to be shaken or stirred.

To be honest, we generally use it in martinis ourselves - but that will have to be another blog. Today it was simply a summer aperitif on the Seawall and it was delicious. Too bad this will be its only mention during our Wine Odyssey. It's not a vintage wine. So, I can't come back to it and count it as a new, unique wine. Won't stop me from enjoying it though. In fact, we didn't finish off the bottle and I'm having a little sip as I complete this post.

Just as we moved on from the Lillet to some wine and the picnic, who should come sauntering along the Seawall, walking her pooch, but RoZee. Not having seen her for a couple of years, we see her twice in a month since she'd joined us for the Kits Girls dinner the other week. Seems that she's crossed False Creek and the confines of Kits to set up shop in Yaletown. We were dining in her new back yard, so to speak.

Good thing our picnic bag had an extra glass in it. We could offer her a quick sip before she continued on her tour du jour.

195. 2004 Santa Rita Triple C (Valle del Maipo - Chile)

This bottle held a bit of surprise for us - after the fact, of course. We were in a bit of rush when leaving for the picnic and I pretty much just grabbed a bottle off the rack and didn't put a lot of thought into what I'd chosen. We were pleasantly surprised with the wine as it was more refined and complex than we're used to with most Chilean wines.

A good proportion of the wines making The List are a winery's entry level offerings. That's just where our budget and every day habits lead us. Triple C, however, is one of Santa Rita's (and Chile's) premium wines. I don't quite remember how the bottle ended up on our wine rack since I'm not known to lay out $50 for a Chilean wine - but it's a good thing that we opened it on a decent occasion.

Santa Rita has been in the wine business since 1880 (pretty much the same pedigree as Lillet) and it has grown into the second largest land-owning winery in Chile. It was

one of the pioneering wineries when it came to planting the noble, European varietals and the winery has holdings in all the major wine-producing regions of the country - all of which allows it to offer a variety of products, varietals and styles.

Triple C, itself, is a blend of classic Bordeaux grapes grown in the premier Maipo region. It's comprised of 55% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Carmenere; hence, the Triple C.

As much as we could have lounged a bit longer and enjoyed the world passing by, we had to go and help Harry battle He Who Must Not Be Named.

Cobre, Carmenere & Tapas

Boo and I went out for dinner with Elzee to Cobre for yet another celebration of Boo's b-day. Unlike him though, we didn't bring a camera to document the evening. So, I think this might be the first bottle to be added to The List without a picture - of either the actual bottle or location/drinking buddies. We actually do have a picture that was taken on Boo's cell phone, but we never use it for that purpose and he doesn't know how to download it at all. Who knows, it could get added to this post somewhere down the line; however, for the meantime, I'll just settle for a download from the web.

95. 2006 Viu Manent Reserve Carmenere (DO Colchaugau Valley - Chile)

Cobre restaurant promotes itself as serving Nuevo Latino cuisine, featuring the flavours of Argentina, Cuba, Brazil and Mexico. They use the adjectives "passion, exuberance, sultriness and joy" to define the dishes and atmosphere. How could we orded anything but a South American wine?

When drinking Chile, why not take a gamble with the "national" grape, Carmenere. One of the original Bordeaux grapes, you rarely see it in a bordeaux wine anymore. When the phylloxera plague hit France in the 1860's, it appears to have hit the Carmenere vines particularly hard. The varietal was barely, if at all, replanted. In fact it is often referred to as having been thought of as extinct.

Turns out that, when noblemen of the 1800's attempted to set up vineyards in Chile along the lines of the Bordeaux estates, a good number of Carmenere rootstocks and vines were part of the package. For the next century, however, the grapes were thought to be Merlot due to similarities in appearance and profile. Seems that people knew there were subtle differences but the vines were grown and blended as Merlot.

It wasn't until the 1990's that studies showed that the vines were, indeed, the "lost" Bordeaux varietal. From that time, the vines have been identified in the vineyards and being grown with regard to the varietal's different requirements.

Viu Manent is one of the vineyards that benefitted from the re-discovery of Carmenere. The winery celebrated its 70th year in the wine business in 2005 and it has played an instrumental role in developing the wine industry and wine tourism in Chile - specifically the Colchaugua Valley.

Chile has clearly the largest Carmenere plantings in the world - and is seen as a source to reintroduce the varietal to its homeland in France and around the world. Although Viu Manent is described as being perhaps Chile's pre-eminent producer of Malbec, it is one of the producers that has grown to export Carmenere worldwide.

The grape is certainly seeing its popularity grow among wine drinkers as more producers are being introduced. Not exactly ubiquitous yet, our government stores list about two dozen bottles, either as straight varietals or blends featuring Carmenere as a central component. Currently, every one of the listings is from Chile.

It's a good thing that this blog isn't based on given tasting notes because I'm not so sure that I'd add much here to the fact that it tasted fine with our food. We'd had a few celebratory cocktails of the non-wine persuasion beforehand. We're always game for a little latin flare though.